


Never Leave Me

by Asexual_Enjolras



Category: IT - Stephen King
Genre: Adult Eddie Kaspbrak, Adult Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, Adult Richie Tozier, Asexual Character, Asexual Relationship, Character Death Fix, Childhood Friends, Eddie Kaspbrak Lives, Eddie Kaspbrak Loves Richie Tozier, Eddie Kaspbrak is a Mess, Eventual Romance, Fix-It, Gay Eddie Kaspbrak, Gay Richie Tozier, Happy Ending, IT Chapter Two Spoilers, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Minor Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh, Movie: IT Chapter Two, Not Canon Compliant, Platonic Relationships, Richie Tozier Loves Eddie Kaspbrak, Richie Tozier is a Little Shit, Sad Richie Tozier
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-07
Updated: 2019-09-07
Packaged: 2020-10-11 15:15:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20548265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Asexual_Enjolras/pseuds/Asexual_Enjolras
Summary: Following the 'death' of his first love, Richie feels lost as his friends celebrate the defeat of Pennywise. He tries to keep his emotions in check after losing the love of his life.But when Eddie returns, angry about being left behind, Richie tries his hardest to make it up to the one man that he truly adores more than anything else.This is basically all just a fix-it fiction because It: Chapter Two broke my heart in two and I need to pretend that Richie and Eddie ended up happy and in love with one another.





	Never Leave Me

**Author's Note:**

> SPOILERS maybe included in this for It: Chapter Two, so don't read if you haven't watched the movie.

***

Richie's eyes averted from his friends, unable to take his gaze away from the tall, broken rock that they had all just jumped from. He said nothing, his brain unable to comprehend the situation that he found himself in, his mind racing at its inability to accept that his best friend was gone for good. He felt the tears prick in his eyes, their saltiness stinging as he tried his best to keep his emotions under control.

He wanted to say something witty, something funny and smart and something that even Eddie would have laughed at. But he found himself speechless and completely unable to find any reason to speak. 

"He'd have hated this." He heard one of his friends say. He had no effort to listen to who the voice came from, no reason to care for the person that it came from anymore.

"What? Cleaning ourselves in dirty water?" 

"Precisely." 

Richie cleared his throat, lifting his arms to take his glasses off of his face. He looked down at them, his vision happily blurred. He didn't want to see anything anyway. He wanted to see Eddie. He wanted more than anything to see his face again; his clumsy smile and his bright, brown, glazed eyes.

He ran his finger over the red stained glass, the blood of his best friend as he felt his breathing hitch in his throat. He dropped his glasses into the water, unable to find any reason to see properly again if he couldn't ever see Eddie again. He felt so empty. 

"He was only ever looking out for us." Bill's voice resonated with Richie, making his lose his balance in the water.

Richie's hands caught his face, his shoulders buckling as he fell into a sob. His throat ached as he cried, and his heart yearned for his smaller, thinner friend to tell him to stop being so sad and to tell him that things would be okay. But Eddie was gone. And Richie would never be able to tell him just how much he truly meant to him.

And he would never get the opportunity to apologise for all of the teasing that he made Eddie endure at his hands.

"Rich-" Beverly dropped Ben's hand as she rushed to hold Richie in her arms, her other friends doing the same; reaching their hands out to comfort their friend. "Eddie wouldn't want you to be sad."

"He's up there waiting for you to fuck his mum." Ben said, attempting to make his usually bubbly friend laugh. But Richie just stared blankly, his mouth unwavering as the sobs continued to form in his throat. He still said nothing.

She had never seen Richie look so desperate and lost. He was always the friend that was strong. He was the one that was never caught showing emotion, let alone crying. But he was a mess now. And it stung in her chest to know just how much Eddie's death had affected his persona.

"We should dry ourselves off." She said, trying to break the man from his thoughts of Eddie. "Come on, we'll all get food." 

Richie pulled himself away, not wanting to leave the lake.

"Rich - come on." Bill said, trying to take his hand. 

"Get off of me." He growled, pulling his hand away in a quick and defensive fashion. "Seriously, I'm staying here." 

"You can't." Beverly begged. "Please, Eddie wouldn't want us to be sad." 

"How the fuck do you know what Eddie would have wanted?" Richie screamed, not really wanting to snap at his friends. They wanted to help him. They were trying their best to help him. They just didn't understand. "Eddie would have wanted to be alive here. With us." He said. "It should have been me." He said, placing his head in his hand and sobbing once again. "He didn't deserve to die." He cried. "Stupid asshole should have let me die. Fucking hell." 

"Stop this." Ben said. "Stop this, Rich." 

"Don't tell me to stop grieving for Eddie - because I don't think I can. Not ever." 

"Nobody is asking you to."

"We shouldn't have left him down there." Richie continued to sob, his voice cracking.

"You weren't going to." Mike pointed out. "Eddie was dead, Rich." He said. "There was nothing you could have done."

"It should have been me!" He flipped. 

Beverly pulled Ben over to the side, whispering into his ear. She was on the verge of crying herself. She hated seeing Richie look so broken. He deserved to smile again. He was always joking and smiling and laughing and it felt so wrong to see him so empty. 

Ben nodded, agreeing to her plan. 

"Come on." He said, using his strength to lift Richie out of the lake. "We are al going to get dry and mourn together, okay?" 

"No." Richie tried to wriggle out of his arms, wanting to run as far away from reality as possible. He was glad It was dead. He was glad that it was all over. But he missed Eddie. And he didn't ever get to tell him how much he meant to him. And he hated himself for it.

The Losers all sat around the table of Mike's home, all except for Richie. The brunette man sat with his legs crossed and his arms folded, staring out of the window as his friends ate and watched the television. He thought of Eddie's soft hands, his quick wit and his inability to take a joke. He thought of the constant taunting that bounced back and forth between the two of them, and the love that he felt in his heart for his friend. He felt so empty without him. It felt strange to him. Richie had gone 27 years without Eddie. He had coped 27 years without his company. He never forgot him, not really. He always felt something missing in his life. 

But he had managed 27 years without Eddie.

27 years without Eddie now felt impossible for Richie. He felt it was impossible to continue living if Eddie was not here. The lump in his throat swelled, getting bigger as he tried his best to suppress the fact that Eddie was really gone and dead forever. 

"Eddie and Stan are together now." Ben smiled, raising his glass to the sky.

"Forever." Bill added, his voice soft as his glass respectively clinked against his friend's. 

Richie found himself unable to look at his friends around the table. 

"Hey, Rich?" Beverly knocked on the table. "Are you alright?" 

Richie said nothing.

"At least Eddie is with Stanley now." Ben shrugged, trying his best to get his friend to smile.

"Eddie should be with me - I mean us." Richie spun around, his feet crossing the room and his hands landing with a thump on the table. His fists were clenched as he looked at his friends around the table. "He didn't deserve to fucking die." 

"Rich - stop punishing yourself."

"He died saving me." He choked. "I didn't deserve him."

"It did this, you had no idea that It would-"

"He shouldn't have come back here. He should have stayed away. I told him - I told him to leave. We should have left when we had the chance-"

"It had to be stopped. This had to happen-"

"No!" Richie screamed. "Don't you dare. Eddie did not have to die." 

"Richie, please. Stop." 

The brunette collapsed onto the windowsill again, his eyes averting back to the stars in the sky. He fell into silence once more, unable to find the effort to argue or joke anymore.

Ben and Beverly lay on the floor, their hands intertwined. Bill smiled at the sight of his friends happy. He was happy for them, really, if not a little jealous. 

"Try and rest, Richie." Mike said, offering him a blanket. 

"I am fine, thank you." He said, pushing it away. He was cold. Richie was freezing. His heart was so cold and he was freezing without him beside him, not that he had ever been by his side really. But Richie was willing to remain cold. He would remain cold forever without Eddie. His heart was cold and his eyes were glazed with emptiness as he stared out at the sky, attempting to catch even a glimpse of his beauty shining up in the sky, guiding him. 

The room suddenly fell silent as the friends looked up at the roof, attempting to rest after the long day that they had had.

Richie continued to stare.

From the door came a loud bang, footsteps from a light presence and a creaking of the wood as it flew open. Beverly sat up, straining her neck as she tried to wake Ben. Mike stood, reaching for his gun. But Richie did not move.

"Thanks a fucking bunch." The words didn't process in any of their minds, and nor did the voice that they came from.

"What-" 

"I think I'm dreaming." Ben pinched himself.

"I cannot believe that you fucking left me down there with It." Eddie's voice was deep, his pain and betrayal clearly evident in his tone. Richie turned instantly, his heart racing at the sound of his voice.

"Dude, we thought you were dead." Ben said, being the first to speak. He shuffled over, his clothes still dripping wet and his had still clasped in Bev's. He looked to Bev, her eyes watering as she stared in disbelief at the man in front of them. Her red hair shone as she wiped the tears from her face, the mud collapsing from her skin as they fell.

"You - you were dead." Bill furrowed his eyebrows, his mind racing with possibilities as to how Eddie was alive and in front of them now. "Mike - you - you said that he - he was gone. This is - isn't possib-le." He stuttered.

Beverly dragged her feet backwards, standing as she averted her eyes to Richie.

Eddie's clothes were blood stained, and his face was pale with dark circles surrounding his naturally dark eyes. He was mumbling, his voice cold as he shivered in the moonlight. He looked unwell, and spooked. He looked dead. And the friends were baffled.

"Mike - you said It was dead." Ben turned to the older man, his eyes narrowing. 

"Wh - why would It - It take Eddie's face?"

"I don't understand. It is dead." Mike said, his voice small. He was at a loss of explanation. Eddie was dead. And so was It. This was completely impossible, he had no explanation for this. None of his research explained this. 

Richie's eyes did not break away from Eddie. He felt himself standing up, his feet barely able to hold himself up. He didn't want to believe that this was real incase it was torn away from him again. But he didn't want to believe that this was fake because he wanted it to be real so badly. He needed it to be real. He had no idea what he was doing with his life now that Eddie was gone, had no idea how he had forgotten how much his friend had meant to him so long ago. And he had no idea how he had been able to forget the beauty of his smile, the brilliance of his wit and the charm of his insults. He blinked, about to pinch himself to see if he was dreaming or not.

Richie, instead, broke into a slow run. He ran closer to the figure of his old friend, of his best friend. His other friends took steps away.

"No - Richie - it's not him." Mike screamed, desperate for Richie to stay away. "It - it can't be."

Richie did not listen, however. He collapsed into Eddie's arms, wrapping his own around his slender friend. The pair of them collapsed onto the floor, Richie clutching Eddie and running his hands through his hair desperately. Eddie did not react, he froze. 

"You left me to die." 

"I didn't-" Richie sobbed, his face pressing hard against Eddie's shoulder. He was crumbling, his voice breaking as he desperately thought about what he wanted and needed to say. He wanted to explain everything.

"You left me in a cold, dark, collapsing and dirty sewer to die." Eddie said, in monotone.

"I didn't, please-"

Beverly dropped her shoulder, her stance calming as she stared at the scene.

"Eddie, how did you escape?" Mike's tone was callously cruel. He didn't intend it to be, he was just confused and he wanted to understand more than anything how anyone could get out of a situation like Eddie had - if he truly had. 

"It doesn't fucking matter." Richie cried into Eddie's clothes. "You survived." He swallowed, lifting his head to look into his eyes to see the life in them. Eddie flinched, shaking his head. "Are you hurt? You need medical attention." He fussed over him, running his hand over Eddie's bloodied and cold cheek.

Eddie pulled away, asking:

"You've been crying?" 

Richie just laughed, his fingers lingering on Eddie's chest. He rested his head there, his ears close to his ribcage as he listened to the sweet heartbeat that beckoned below. He closed his eyes, allowing the sound of Eddie's life to fill his heart. He opened them, standing up straight and looking him straight in the face. He sniffled, wiping the tears from his eyes.

"You were dead." His voice snapped, his tone broken. He wrapped his arms around the slim brunette, pulling him close to him. Richie had never held Eddie in his life, he had never hugged him or been this close to him before. And the other friends looked on, completely baffled at the scene in front of them. 

"I didn't die, you fucking dickwad." Eddie pushed him off. "You left me there." 

"I didn't - I didn't leave you." Richie sobbed, forcing himself back into Eddie's arms; wanting nothing more than to be held by the other man.

"You did." Eddie snarled. 

"I fucking didn't." Richie fell to his knees, his arms wrapped around Eddie's waist. "You - you left me. And of all people in this world, I didn't think that you would leave me." Richie sobbed. 

Eddie looked down at his friend, his mind closing the other friends out of his vision so that he was only seeing Richie.

"You left me all alone." He continued.

"I - I - I am s-s-so lost here." Bill whispered. "How did h-he survive?" 

"I don't know." Mike admitted.

Eddie knelt down opposite Richie, his face inches away from his.

"You left me, Rich." 

"We had to drag him away-" Ben said, breaking Eddie's gaze away from Richie's glasses. He was studying his face, taking in his familiar features. "He wouldn't leave you. It was dying, and Richie still wouldn't leave your side. Mike and I had to carry him out, Eddie."

"You left me." Richie sobbed again.

Eddie allowed the words to settle against his heart as he studied the expression on Richie's face. He blinked, sighing.

"I didn't leave you." Eddie said. He rested his forehead against Richie's, his fingers lacing into his hair. 

"You - you're bleeding." Richie said, applying pressure to Eddie's face. 

Eddie smiled, lightly. 

"You did - didn't leave me." He said, as he fell into darkness, his body falling limp. Richie caught him in his arms, clutching him close.

***

Eddie's head was aching as he opened his eyes to the bright light of the hospital room. He closed them again, trying to adjust his eyes to the moonlight glazing through from the window. He cleared his throat, brushing a hand through his hair as he straightened the crease from his shirt and looked around the room. It was dark in the room if the moon was ignored.

"Rich-" Eddie felt Richie murmur in his slumber, he was slumped over the bar of his bed from the seat beside his bedside. He felt a small smile form on his face, noticing the other man's hand clasped within his own. Their fingers were laced perfectly together, their skin caressing one another's. 

"I'm he- here." Richie jumped up, smiling. He rubbed his eyes, trying to look at the time on the clock.

"How long have I been out?" 

"You collapsed two weeks ago." Richie said, still half asleep.

"And you have stayed here, all that time?" Eddie asked, confused.

"Well - I - I did go home to get a few things but - yeah. I came straight back to your side." He blushed, looking down at his hand as he twiddled his thumbs, awkwardly.

"And It's definitely gone." It wasn't a question, as such, and Richie knew. But he nodded anyway. "Where are the others?" 

"They - drop by every so often." Richie told him. 

"But you have stayed for two whole weeks." 

Richie swallowed, nodding.

"Why?" 

"I left you once before, and almost lost you forever." Richie's tone was serious. It was strange to hear him speak in such a normal tone. It turned Eddie's stomach, slightly. "I wasn't taking any chances this time." He said. "You saved my life, Ed."

Eddie blinked.

"You saved me." 

"It was nothing, really." He winked, unable to think of anything else to say. He saved Richie because he felt like he had to.

"Ed, you have saved my life so many times." 

"Once doesn't equate to 'many times', Rich." 

Richie scoffed, his nose stinging as he laughed. He swallowed the lump in his throat.

"No, I've never told you before - but you - you save me all the time. From myself." 

Eddie's eyebrows furrowed, confused.

"That - it doesn't make sense but you have saved me." 

"That's so fucking gay." Eddie nudged him, meaning it as a joke. He looked Richie up and down, taking in his hurt expression. "But you've saved me too." 

"I - I'm not gay." He stuttered, resembling Bill.

"I didn't say that you were." Eddie said.

"Please don't call me gay - I don't - I'm not -" 

"It's fine, Rich." He rested his hand on top of the other man's again.

Richie felt his heart beating heavily in his chest, his feet threatening to give way. He felt sick. This was his worst nightmare. He put his head onto the bed, his face buried in the duvet.

"Rich-" Eddie shuffled closer to the edge of the bed, gurning as he hit his wound. He bit his lip. "Hey, Rich." He used his hand to carefully lift the other man's face to look at him. "It's all okay." He rubbed his thumb across his chin, cupping his face in his hand. "I love you too." 

Richie's heart plummeted in his ribcage, his eyes opening to look at the man in front of him. 

"Wha-"

Eddie's lips landed on top of Richie's, his fingers stroking his cheek as he fell into the caressing touch. Richie felt his eyes well up with tears again.

"I wanted to tell you in the cave - when I thought I was dying - but I had to tell you that I fucked your mum instead. That felt more important." 

"You dick." Richie scowled, grinning.

"That's what she said to me." 

"Shut the fuck up." 

"Look, Rich, your mum is very beautiful." Eddie winked.

"I hate you-"

"I love you." Eddie planted his lips on Richie's again. It felt strange to him, he had always liked Richie. He just never wanted to admit it - he was too scared. But seeing Richie so broken after his near death experience, Eddie figured that life was far too short not to tell him. 

"Move in with me." Richie blurted out, unable to hold his emotions in when it came to Eddie. "I will take care of you." He said. "Forever." 

Eddie smiled at him, nodding. All of his dreams seemed to be coming true.

"Shit - my wife." 

"I couldn't give a flying fuck about her." Richie brushed the hair from Eddie's face.

"What about your wife?" He winked.

"Shut the fuck up."

***

Richie was thankful for Eddie's somewhat fast recovery. It was dark in his house, dark and lonely without him. And he still wondered how he had managed to live 27 years without Eddie in his life. Being a stand-up comic in the closet was a hard life. But he had always felt that there was something missing. Eddie's moving in process was smooth, and he had managed to move his stuff into Richie's large home quite quickly.

Eddie could hardly go home to his wife, he had introduced her to Richie and explained the situation to her. She had known, of course, that he was in live with someone else. Somehow. Even Eddie didn't know, so he had no idea how she could have known all that time. He couldn't even remember Richie existing. He was just glad that he wouldn't ever have to pretend to be something that he wasn't anymore. He didn't need to. 

"Can I tell you something?" Eddie asked, breaking the silence and running his hand through Richie's hair as his head lay resting on his stomach. 

"Anything, Ed." 

"Only if you promise that you won't laugh." 

"You know I can't promise not to laugh at you." Richie smirked, winking despite knowing that Eddie couldn't see it. Eddie sighed, nudging Richie's head away from his chest in a huff. "I'm kidding." Eddie shook his head.

"No, it doesn't matter." He scoffed, pushing Richie off of him and sitting up, folding his arms. 

Richie shuffled up, kneeling close to Eddie's body. He straddled his legs over the other man's, his face inches away from the smaller man's, his breath caressing his face. 

"Come on, I'm sorry. Tell me." Richie said, closing his eyes as he leant in to place his lips to Eddie's.

"No. All you ever do is laugh at me, Rich." He frowned, pushing Richie's face away with his hand. "Seriously, I don't know why I ever had any thoughts that you could ever be serious." 

Richie blinked, sighing at his own idiocy. 

"Come on, I promise I won't laugh." He said, his nose brushing against Eddie's.

"Fine." Eddie scowled. "But, I swear, if you laugh then I will kill you." 

Richie smirked, before dropping his expression and staring at his boyfriend with a new, deadpan one in return. 

"Have you ever seen the graffiti down on the Kissing Bridge?" Eddie's voice was shaking, the nerves showing in his words. Richie swallowed hard, looking at Eddie with a concerned expression. He nodded, allowing Eddie to continue through his own apprehension. "Yeah?" He asked, to which Richie nodded. "Well, have you ever noticed that there's our initials down there?" Richie stared at him, blankly. "Okay, well, they are there. 'R and E', right next to the bridge side. I didn't write them, though. But whenever I saw them, I always had a small glimmer of hope that it was you that did. I know it's stupid but-"

Richie's laugh pierced into Eddie's heart, making him jump up. 

"I told you not to fucking laugh at me, Richie." He screamed. "I swear to fucking God, you are such a dumbass. You're such a dickwad. I fucking hate you, honestly." 

Richie stopped laughing then. He shot up, his eyes welling with tears.

"Don't - don't hate me." Richie pleaded, his voice desperate. He was soft. "Look, I laughed at the stupidity of the situation, I didn't laugh at you." 

"Yes, you did." 

"I did not." He said, his tone desperate. 

"Richie, if you don't want this to work between us then continue the way that-"

"I wrote the initials on the bridge." He blurted out, his body unable to hold it in any longer. Eddie froze, stopping in his tracks. He stared at Richie's face, expecting to see him crack a smile and throw in a joke about how stupid Eddie was to even think that he would write something as silly as that. "I - I wrote our initials on the bridge when we were kids." 

"Wha - why, Richie?" 

Richie shrugged. He didn't want to talk about it. He couldn't talk about it. It was haunting and pathetic. It was stupid. And Eddie would only laugh at him.

"I fancied your mum." He shrugged, attempting to change the mood of the conversation. 

"You're insufferable." Eddie nudged him, cracking a small smile.

Richie planted his lips onto Eddie's, his tongue melting into Eddie's mouth and moving with his in perfect unison.

"If I get sick from you-"

"Shut up." Richie pushed Eddie down, biting his lip as he fell into the kiss again. Eddie ran his hand down Richie's torso, starting to unbutton his trousers.

Richie leapt up, shuffling. He tried to catch his breath, his throat feeling tight. He collapsed down the wall, his eyes wide.

"What is it?" Eddie asked, kneeling down beside him. 

"You're going to laugh at me." Richie said. He knew he would. He knew that this would happen one day. But he also didn't expect it to be so soon in their relationship.

"Rich - what is wrong?" Eddie asked. 

"I love you." Richie said, his eyes red and stinging. "I do." He repeated himself. "I need you to know that." 

"You're worrying me."

"I - I don't do that." 

"Oh." Eddie nodded. 

"Is - please don't laugh at me." 

Eddie placed his hand on Richie's cheek, his thumb stroking his smooth skin. 

"I love you." He said. "It doesn't matter." 

"What-"

"Rich, I love you." Eddie climbed on top of him. "That is enough for me, alright?"

Richie looked like he was about to cry again. But he held it together, remembering all of the times that he had teased Eddie.

"Besides, sexual activity between two males is supposed to be very - I can't even think of a word to describe it. I don't really - sex isn't really my sort of thing either. But I love you. A lot. So much." 

Richie bit his lip to stop it from quivering, his eyes scanning Eddie's sweet face. He was so innocent, so sweet and tender and kind.

"You're my best friend." Richie cried. "Please never leave me." 

"I didn't have you down as the needy type." Eddie smirked.

"Shut the fuck -"

"I'm joking. I promise I won't leave."

"I made your life hell. I teased you so much." 

"I gave as good as I got."

"In your fucking dreams. Idiot."

"Besides, Rich, you're a comedian." Eddie sniggered, setting up his own punchline. "It's your job to be a funny jerk, even if you don't write your own material. And you did start as an annoying, self indulgent wet wipe." 

"Fucking prick." Richie snarled, smirking. His lips curved into a smile. And he realised now that he was the luckiest man alive to have Eddie as his partner and best friend. 

"Hey Eddie, I have to tell you something." 

"I want to tell you something." Eddie said.

They both glared at each other, smiling and saying:

"I love you."

They had been lucky to have each other. And they always will be, for the rest of their lives.

***

**Author's Note:**

> Essentially, I was sad about the ending of It: Chapter Two and wanted to do a fix-it. I hope it was alright, it all feels little messy because I am a mess.


End file.
